Behind the scenes, Lufthansa and the flight attendant union UFO have been negotiating higher salaries for cabin crew. The employee representatives are demanding at least 15 percent more wages and have declared the talks to have failed. Now a possible strike call is no longer being ruled out.

Just a few days ago Both the pilots and the flight attendants of the Kranich subsidiary Discover Airlines went on a one-day strike. Now the UFO union could also call for a work stoppage at the parent company and at some operating subsidiaries that are also subject to the group collective agreement. The effects would be fatal, because a few years ago, in a similar industrial dispute, the UFO unions managed to paralyze Lufthansa flight operations for several days.

The employee representatives made it clear just a few days ago in a broadcast that affected Lufthansa Cityline that the fronts have hardened. The management was accused of breaking its word, Because there would be no promised growth at Cityline, but this would have been shifted to the new sister company City Airlines, which does not yet have any collective agreements. Significantly higher wages are being demanded for Cityline employees.

Lufthansa calls for a return to the negotiating table

So far there have been a total of 14 rounds of negotiations between UFO and Lufthansa management. Now the unionists have left the negotiating table unilaterally – for the time being. An existing circular to members states that the latest offer was considered “inadequate”. According to its own information, it represents around 18.000 cabin employees of the Lufthansa Group. For this, you demand a 15 percent increase in salary every month as well as a one-off payment of 3.000 euros.

The union members can no longer rule out possible strike action. However, a so-called strike vote must first be carried out among the members. Lufthansa is surprised that the employee representatives have left the negotiating table. They regret this and at the same time call on the trade unionists to return. We will therefore have to wait and see further developments.

A possible flight attendant strike at Lufthansa could have significant consequences for passengers. A few years ago there was a labor dispute lasting several days that was organized by the UFO union. This brought flight operations to an almost complete standstill. Many passengers were unable to take their booked flights due to a lack of alternatives.